richards



W. P. RICHARDS.

GAR GODPLING.

APPLICATION FILED JULY7,1910.

Mm n 955:05

W. I. MCHAR'DS.

GAR GOUFLNG.

IoATIoN Mmm JULY 7, .1u m.

APPL

Patented Aug'. il, 15M/i 3 SHEETS"SHEET 2.

w ,M Q

W. F. RICHARDS.

GAR GOUPLING.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 7, 1910.

.1; E STATES PAENT Flam/E.

WJL'LLARI! F. RICHARDS, OF LANCASTER, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOB, T0 GOULD COME?? I COMPANY, 0)? NEW YORK', N. Y.

CAIL-COUPLING.

To all who/m it may concern Be it known that I, `Winnen F. Rioiiaiine,

acitif/.en ot the United States, residingr at Lancaster, in the county ot' Erie and State ot' New York, have invented a new and u'ae 'tal .linproveinent in Car-Couplers, of, which the 't'iillowing is a speciiication.

' This invention reiates more particiilarly to car couplers of the Master Car Builders type in which a vertically movable gravityactuated lock for the l'iorizontally-Swinging knuckle and a liorizontal lock lifting' shaft, arranged transversely at the lower portion of the coupler head are employed.

The objects of the invention are to produce a Strong and `serviceable coupler ot' this type which will be easy to operate and pos- `itive and reliable in its automatic action, and which will be simple and inexpensive to manufacture and will not readily 1get out ot' order; also to provide a large and .strong gravity-actuated knuckle lock which ia actuated by a transverse rock sha't't a rra n eed at the bottoni of the coupler head, and to arrange and connect the parts so that the lock cannot be jolted out of its locking position by the impact between two couplers in coupling the care, and to improve the (amati-action ot' couplers ot' this type in the respects'hereinafter described and set iorth in the claim.

In' the accompanying drawings, consisting; of three sheets: Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional elevation oi a car coupler enibodying the invention, on line l--'l, Fig.

i?, showing); the locked position ol the parte.'

llig. 2 a sectional plan thereof on line le-l2, Fig. l. Figi'. 3 is a sectional elevation siinilaizto Fig. 1, showing the knuckle swung open. Fig. Llis a. sectional plan en line 41, Fig'. 3. Fie. 5 ie a transverse Sectional elevation through the coupler, showing;r the lock in its set or released position. Fig. (i is a similar view showingr the knuckle locked.

Like reference characters refer to like parte` in the Several figures.

A represents the head, and, P, the hori Zontally-swinging knuckle of the coupler. 'lhe knuckle, as usual, is pivoted in the coupler head at one side thereof and is provided with an inwardly extending; tail 7) and a lateral tail extneion b which is subatantialy concentric` with the knuckle pivot and projects throiighia hole o Ain the eide Specleation of Letters Patent.

Application led July 7, 1910.

VAhiatentcd Aug. et, 1914i.

Serial No. 570,757.

ol the coupler head when the knuckle is closed. The tail of the knuckle has a flat :,ide oi- 'face b3 adapted to be engaged by the knuckle lock t'or holding the knuckle in the closed or locked position.

The knuckle lock C is preferably arranged near the center of the coupler to move vertically between the face o'l" the knuckle tail and one ol the upright side walls c of the coupler head. The lock extends up intol a vertical guide cavity or pocket c in the top ot' theV head and ia provided with a train;vcrecy upright slot (f2, and a horizontal pin o, which is secured in any suitable inaniier in the coupler head and passes through the slot c: in the lock. The lower portiony of the knuckle lock C is reduced in size, forming a leg or shank c* which extends dmvnwardly from the body of the lock through a slot c in the bottom of the coul)ler head A. The lock is thus adapted to more vertically in the head into and out of locking engagement with the tail of the knuckle and is guided in its vertical move` ments, and ie hcld 'from moviainent laterally or ei le\\'i.-,e of the coupler by the pressure of the tail of the knuckle, due to the draft on the knuckle, thereby :loriningr a very strony; and reliable knuckle lock. The lower end ot the shank of the lock is pivoted to an arni (Z on a horizontal operating rock `aha'lt or rod l), which extends transversely underneath the coupler head and is j0urnalcd in suitable brackets or bearings d depending from the bottom of the coupler head or in any other suitable manner. The rock sha'lt D is provided at one end with an eye (I: or other suitable means by which an operating rod or lever (not shown) may be connected to the shaft I). When the operating,r shaft is rocked upwardly and rearwardly thelock is liited vertically and itS lower end is swung rearwardly owing to the pivotal connection of the shank ot the lock with the rock arm rl and the pivotal A and sliding,r connection of its upper end with i the pin o, the lock beiner lthus moved to apoeitioii such that thc tail ot' the knuckle can swing outwardly under the large or body part of the lock.

E represents a lock set or latch which is pivoted at one end in any suitable way in a Slot or recess o in the lock C so that its free end isadapted to swing toward the side of the coupler in which the knuckle is pivoted.

CJR

Y lock is in its lowest or locking p0- sition the side c' of the lock set will lle on tiieyupper tace of the knuckle tail., see Fig..

Un raising the lock to release the knuckle, the lock eet will swing downwardly, its free end ng; alone the upper fuee of the knucine iai. until tie lock set is arrested in e suhsf'ant ally upright position by the engagement et its face e with the inner edge the slot. e. lll hen in this position, which is shown in Fig. 5, the lower end of the lool; set is adapted toc bear againstthe upperl edge of the side 3 of' the knuckle tail and thus hold the lock in the raised unlocking position, shown in Fig. 5, until lthe knuckle has been. swung open. The lower end of the lock' set is preferably curved or inclinedv` from' the horizontal so that the lock set and look willibe raisedslightly by the knuckle when the knuckle is swung open.

l? repreisents a'knuckle opening lever or kicker which is pivoted between its endsin/ the coupler head at one side of the lock C on` a pin f secured to the bottom of theoupler head or in any other suitable way. One arm of the lever extends forwardly and ligas :i part j" which is reduced in thickness to permit it to move underneath the knuckle and an upwardly extending endv lug or portion which is adapted to engage with a recessed part at the lower portion of the knuckle tail. 'The other arm f4 of the lever F is curved around the knuckle lock C and the end thereof is adapted to be engaged and inovecl rearwardly by the lock when the lock is thrown to its uppermost position, which will cause the front end of the kicker lever to press against the knuckle tail and thus the knuckle open.

the operation of the coupler, the shaft D is rocked to raise the knuckle lock out of enuiugeinent.with the knuckle 'tail and the niay be set in that positionas before allied., it the coupler is in engagement ih en opposing coupler. lf it is desired to ewing 'open the knuckle, the shaft is rocked so to throw the lower end of the lock forcibly backward beyond the set position nud forcibly strike the rear end of the cia-,ker lie-rer, lil'iereby positively swinging this ver a ,i opening the knuckle.l Aftervthe ec. clear of the knuckle tail.1 'the Y ot two cars.

,continued movementot the operating shaft simply swings the lower end of the lock rearvardly and the kicker lever can therefore be Struck'a strong blow and actuated with but little exertion. lVhen the kn'uekle'is .swung inwardly by the coupling cars its,

closed position its tail willistrike Athe front end of the kicker lever an swing the lever on its pivot so'that its'rear portion will .strike against the shank ofthe knuckle :lock

und force it forwardly beyond its Cleadce'lrl ler, after which the lock will drop to its.I lod-zint;` position. by gravity. Thus the.'op eration et the` coupler is positive and reliuhle and does not require the use of springs.

, The lower end of the lock has to swing reari wardly and upwardly to release'the knuckle,

Vund als the arm (Z of the lock-lifting shaft occupies a nea ly horizontal position when the knuckle islocked, the lock cannot be jolted out' o'l' holding' engagement with/ the knuckle r'by the ilnpurt due to the coupling The coupler is of simple construction an'd inexpensive to n'nuuit'ucture, and the parts ,'oluposing it are strong and durable and not liable to become broken .by the shocks to which the coupler is subjected in use.

l claim as my invention:

In a coupler, the combination of, a swi ngingg` knuckle, a knuckle lock mountedin the coupler head to slide vertically and .swing forwardly and rearwardly vand havingr un enlarged upper 'portion adapte'd-to lock the knuckle and a reduced shankedepending through a hole in the bottom of the coupler head, and a loek-operating rockshal't journalcd externally at the bottoin of the coupler head and having an arm piv-v oted to said lock shank for raising and swinging` the lock, substantially as set ;forth.`

fitness my hand, this 5th day of" July,

une.

wILLnRD nntonnnns. Witnesses:

C. lV. PARKER, C. B. Honnnon. 

